Thanks Mrs_Ed!
All Milkweeds of the World
Well, any nectar sources would be good for you to plant, as they will be needing lots of food. Check out my article today.
The milkweed plants will be good for when they come back north and reproduce the first generation.
I did check it out. Actualy I got more monarch caterpillars in the fall than in spring! Milkweeds are also nectar plants. I have other monarch nectar plants anyway also.
Sounds like you're set!
Yes I am!
I am growing Common Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, and Prairie Milkweed(asclepias sullivanti) seedlings. Do you have any tips? I have Asclepias Tuberosa seeds that already went through a cold period and I planted them 2 weeks ago and they will not germinate! Any tips? Thanks
Danny
I still want all the milkweeds!!! I really want them.............
Danny, Why dont' you grow A. Curassavica?? That seems to be so easy to grow and the ones the Monarchs really like to lay eggs on?? Tender, juicy leaves, they say. Oh, and the Curassavica can be started from cuttings and will grow quickly that way. (Scroll down on this page for instructions on how to do that: http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/prop.htm )
I'm not sure so many people would agree with you that MWs are so easy to grow (in general). Maybe if you reside in just the right area with the right conditions for the specific variety you have seeds for. Some are kind of hard to get to germinate.
Mrs. Ed~~ Can you post the link to your Article? It might be handy to have the link right on this thread...
This message was edited Aug 20, 2008 3:19 PM
I already have alot of Asclepias Curassavica! It is puny Compared to the Milkweeds from the north or other places in the USA.
Lets say Asclepias Curassavica and Asclepias Syriaca. That is a big difference! I want Callifornia Milkweed cause that one growss in my climate and all the other 200 or more types.
Oh, I see. I didn't see. Well, good luck with your milkweed project. Sounds promising!
Thank-you. I still want Green Milkweed.......
Thanks!
Mrs Ed, Wonderful article. I don't know how I missed it first time around!
It was yesterdays.
Hello, I'm new to this forum. Although I don't grow milkweed in my own garden (too much clay), I oversee an elementary school butterfly/hummingbird garden. The kids can't wait each year for the Monarchs to appear. It's such an amazing exchange between young urban kids and nature.
We have a. tuberosa and a. linaria growing in our garden. The monarchs don't seem interested in a. linaria at all. When we bought a. linaria, they already had tiny caterpillars among the leaves, but when we planted these milkweed in the vicinity of a. tuberosa, all future activity moved to a. tuberosa. I guess given a choice, they prefer the latter. Any insight?
They like A. Tuberosa because it flowers more and gets bigger. Do you have A. linaria for trade from you or the garden? I would love some for my Monarch/Milkweed Heaven.
Be careful about using west coast milkweed if your area is not in the flight pattern of the western Monarchs. I've heard that the rest of the Monarchs can't use western milkweed species. It could be toxic for them. I don't know for sure, but I think that might be a species of milkweed that the Monarchs that migrate through Texas can't use. Maybe someone else knows more about that.
San Diego is on the western migration path of monarchs. Luckily, there are several over wintering sites within a couple of miles of our garden. I guess its a moot point now...I just visited the garden and our a. linaria were all dead! I see a few cast-offs sprouting so (Danny 112596) when/if it seeds, I'll try to harvest a few for ya.
Thought I'd share a photo of a. fruticosa I took at Balboa Park today.
Your A. futicosa is so cute! I looked it up and it says its 'nickname' is 'African milkweed'... and I think it has another nickname that I'm not going to repeat here!
Is school starting this week in San Diego? Maybe it's not too late to install some Curassavica into your garden? Not native, but seems to grow in CA.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/imageGallery?growthhabit=all&familycategory=all&artist=all&location=all&cite=all&duration=all&stateSelect=all&category=sciname&imagetype=all&origin=all&txtparm=Asclepias&wetland=all©right=all&sort=sciname&viewsort=15&page=4&imageField.x=17&imageField.y=5 but maybe it's not drought tolerant enough...?
Just wondering...When do the Monarchs migrate in CA? And where do they overwinter? I know they have a eucalyptus grove in Monterey for wintering, but don't know much about SD area monarchs.
(And here's another link I just googled up about monarchs and milkweed written by a naturalist from Temecula in case anyone is interested: http://www.myvalleynews.com/story.php?story_id=31161 )
I guess I forgot that the CA monarchs are a different breed from those we have here...
Thank-you zone10
Are there any other Milkweeds that you have or see like California Milkweed or others?
Hey zone 10. Be sure to post that picture in plant files. I think there is only one decent one of it there with the "tennis ball" pods
Yah, you should! :-)
Hi Tabasco ~ Thanks! The first day of school is September 2nd, and I am anxious to prep the garden for returning students. I am so glad you suggested a. curassavica because I went to the link you suggested and found I was mistaken; we are in fact growing a. curassavica and not a. tuberosa! It does very well here. The Monarchs appear in late summer/early fall. Our plants are already covered with tiny caterpillars, so they are right on time. According to an online resource, there are a couple of open spaces nearby where Monarchs over winter. Thank you for the link to the Temecula new article. It contains a lot of great information we can share with the kids.
Danny ~ There are a lot of asclepias in Balboa Park. I saw quite a few yesterday, including a. gigantea. But I haven't personally seen any growing in the wild.
Ms. Ed ~ I'll post the photo right now. Thanks for the suggestion.
Could you get some seeds from the park? 1 seed pod of every type of Milkweed?
Do you know the types of Milkweeds in Balboa Park? Could you get me 1 seed pod of every species?
Hi Danny112596...I also have Asclepias linaria here, and could send seeds when I get some. I just pulled 3 queen cats from my plant this morning, and have put them in a temporary cat house, until I can get a decent one made. I posted these pics in the plant files http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/123209/
And here is one of my cats :)
Cool I would love some!
I would love some PiggyPoo. Do the seeds need a cold period?
Uh....I don't have any idea, Danny. I bought the plant and stuck it in the ground. Guess we should do some research, eh?
yes we should.....I agree. Do you collect the seeds when they ripen and then plant them in spring? Do you have other milkweed species?
I had some collected for awhile, but I sent them off to another DG'r. I've never tried planting them yet, but planned on doing so the next time I got some seeds. I will call the nursery here in town that specializes in natives, and ask them. If anyone will know, they will. I'll get back with you on that one. Yes, I also have a Bloodflower. I've tried a couple others (tuberosa) but had no luck with it. This Pineneedle seems to do well for me. I had some cats on the Bloodflower when I bought it, but they were not there when I got home, and I've not seen any since. Maybe in a couple more weeks
Actually I do not think it needs a cold period because it grows in zones 9a-11 which never gets very cold. The "cold period" zones are zones 1-7b.
All you have other than Pineneedle Milkweed is just Bloodflower? No other wild Milkweeds? You do not see Arizona Milkweed? Do you have passifloras?
I have not tried AZ Milkweed. Yes, I have(had) a passion vine, but it's been eaten away by the GF's. It will come back again next spring
Oh okay.
I guess that's why my Asclepias Curassavica doesn't come back, LOL I did't know it was tropical. one year it came up by itself, I never planted it there, but now it's gone.
I love milkweeds, although I must admit I try to transplant the cats to lower parts of the plant so I can collect seed, or else they'd eat the whole darned plant.
I grew the family jewels milkweed last year, but never got any seed pods off it, and I had to put a tomato cage around it as well.
I'd love to acquire seeds again for that one.
Yes. For plants in zones 8b-11 that are perrenuals they will be anuals in zones 1-8a. Plants that are perrenuals in zones 1-8a need a cold period for the seeds to germinate.
Hope this helps!
Danny